About the Project

Problem statement

During cardiac surgery, a Cordis introducer is commonly placed in the internal jugular vein to facilitate the placement of various support and monitoring devices, including a pulmonary artery catheter and epicardial pacing wires. However, if epicardial pacing fails postoperatively, a situation that occurs in approximately 1.7% of cases, a transvenous pacing (TVP) catheter must be inserted urgently. The problem arises because the TVP catheter, at 5 French in diameter, is significantly smaller than the 9 French Cordis introducer. Attempting to place the TVP through the Cordis results in back-bleeding due to the size mismatch, creating risks for the patient and causing procedural delays. Removing the Cordis to insert a separate TVP introducer is time-consuming and potentially dangerous in emergencies. Therefore, there is a critical need for a device that enables safe, leak-free placement of a 5 Fr TVP catheter through a 9 Fr Cordis introducer to streamline emergency pacing and reduce patient risk.

Overview of solution 

Our team designed a custom adapter to address the size incompatibility between the TVP catheter and Cordis introducer, ensuring a secure, leak-proof connection. This solution aims to improve patient safety and streamline emergency pacing procedures.

• Purpose: Enable secure placement of a 5 Fr TVP catheter through a 9 Fr Cordis introducer without back-bleeding.
  
  

• Design: Two-piece adapter with a threaded locking mechanism and integrated O-ring for a leak-proof seal.
  
  

• Functionality: Prevents blood loss, reduces procedural delay, and simplifies emergency pacing.
  
  

• Manufacturing: Prototype created via resin-based SLA 3D printing for rapid iteration and testing.
  
  

• Testing: Demonstrated stability under simulated venous pressures and successful catheter fit.
  
  

• Limitations: Current prototype is not sterilizable or biocompatible, but suitable for proof-of-concept validation.
  
  

• Next Steps: Future versions will use medical-grade thermoplastics and scalable methods like injection molding.